Self-sealing reservoir



l Ei FRIANT., SELF SEALING RESERVOIR. .APELIATI'oN mfp J'uLY 7. 1920'.

Patented Noi. 28, 1922.*

' Fis 6' Ilya Patented Nov. 28, 19922.

NITED STATES EMILE FRIANT, 0]?A PARIS, FRANCE.

SELF-SEALING RESERVOIR.

Application led July 7, 1920. Serial-No. 394,590.

(GRANTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS 0F THE ACT 0F MARCH 3, 1921, 41 STAT. L., 1313.)

To all who/m. t may coawem:

Be it known that I, EMILE FRIANT, citizen of the Republic of France, residing at 11 Boulevard de Clichy, Paris, Seine, in the Republic of France, have invented certain vnew and useful Improvement in Self-Sealing Reservoirs (for which applications for patents have been filed in France February 7, 1916, Patent No. 495,506, and May 24, 1919, Patent No. 21,452; in Great Britain `July 5, 1920, Patent No. 146,867; in Belgium June28, 1920, Patent No. 287,993; in Switzerland June 29, 1920, Patent No. 91,770; in Italy June 28, 1920, Patent No. 242/540; in'Germany July 9,1920; in Sweden June 30, 1920; and in Czecho-Slovak Republic July 9, 1920), of which the following is a specification. Y

This' invention relates to an envelope which is so disposed as to render a reservoir containing any suitable liquid such that it is self-sealing, that is, to automatically and hermetically stop up the holes produced in the walls by the passage of one or more pro-- jectiles such as bullets or small fragments of shell. It can be employed especially to provide for the preservation of aeroplane gasoline tanks.

Figure 1 is a cross-section of a reservoir embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail vertical section of one of the walls.

Fig. 3 is a cross section of a modification. Fig. 4 is an enlarged section of a reservoir wall corresponding to Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the structure shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 6 is a modification of the structure shown in Fig. 3.

This disposition comprises two parts: 1. The first arrangement has for its ,obvject to prevent a tearing effect` from being produced. It is a well known fact that -when the bullet enters a metal receptacle filled' with liquid it produces a holerhaving av diameter not appreciably greater thanjthat of the bullet itself, but upon leaving the receptacle it usually causes a considerable hole Iin the second wall. It is therefore an important consideration to reduce this hole to a minimum.

The methods here proposed are as fol` lows, to wit', a facing of cork or 'like sub` stance in the interior of the tank; or the use of a coating of agglomerated cork or like material or a substance having the same qualities as cork; or again, the use of tanks provided with double walls having a free space between the same. On the other hand,

and this is' the simplest method, a metal can be employed which will not tear or burst, this being especially the case with aluminium. While it is true that it is only soldered or welded with difficulty, it aifords a considerable advantage from the fact that it is much lighter than copper which is generally employed. For the present purpose the disposition may comprise the use -of aluminium alone or a facing of this-metal within a container having its walls made of another metal.

2. The second part of the invention has for its object to retain the liquid after the perforation of the walls. It consists in the following disposition, Figs. 1 and 2.

The double envelope E can be composed of two sheets of aluminium, for instance, contains a viscous substance V which is insoluble in the liquid which is to be retained without escaping. This double envelope is disposed within the wall of the container between two thicknesses of a fibrous substance F, the latter being packed in such manner as to make the best use of the elas ticity of the substance after the projectileVV has passed through and thereby stop up the opening which is thus produced. After the walls have been perforated, the fibrous substance forms an obstacle to the viscous matter, and this latter which has already stopped up the holes in the perforated double envelope and thus arrested the liquid ready to issue out, can not continue to flow.

The fibrous substance can be replaced by a pulverulent substance which will constisov tute an equally eflicient obstacle to the viscous matter, not by the effect' of elasticity but by the falling of its particles. The fibrous or pulverulent substance disposed between thel double envelope lled with viscous substance and the container may be impregnated with the liquid as soon as the container becomes perforated, but this will cause no series drawback. Among the fibrous substances, choice can be made preferably of wadding in sheetswhich is in curblage of these ba rent use. It should be previouslystripped of the layer of dried albumen which covers the same, and then disposed by folding or in like manner and held pressed to ether on each side of the double envelope which will maintain the fluidity even at low temperature or the substance can 1 be vconstituted of pure glcyerin. By the veffect of its own weight, a pressure will beexerted in the vertical space containing -this substance adjacent to the sides of the reservoir which will be transmitted through the horizontal portion at the bottom and will effect the immediate closing of the hole left by the projectile.

An alternative method-consists in the" usel the weight of the material cannotV serve todrive it into the space produced, so that it is preferable to make use of elasticity and compression. vThe rubber answers this urpose since it expands under the sudden t rust of the projectile and considerably reduces the hole by resuming its normal shape. The construction can be preferably carried out by the use of rubber bags C disposed as represented in Fig. 5, having for instance five or six centimeters height while the width can be represented by the perimeter of the tank. These bags are eachf: attached by their upper parts P to the internal walls of the double envelope of rubber cloth, one half of the first bag covering half the second and so on, as shown in Fig. 5, in such manner that the projectile will always'encounter four sheets of rubber. The assemis imbedded in a kind of' paste Vf constituted by fibrous or pul- 'verulent matter impregnated with viscous substance. The fibrous matter retains the viscous substance and assures the presence of the latter upon the whole extent of the double envelope. This assemblage is covered by the external wall of the double rubber cloth envelope. The latter is disposedv 'as in the first method between two thicknesses of folded wadding and the whole is held pressed between the walls of the tank by means of a netting T or any other 'suitable means giving as practical a construction as possible. This arrangement is considered to bel the one affording the greatest lightness.

' The following alternative devices can be em loyed.

. Instead of the double rubber cloth envelope there can. be employed a .double envelope formed by two s eets. of rubber Cz', Ce, (Fig. 6)' and this possesses an advantage .over thev former `device from the A factthat it will contract and thus partially In the case where the liquid to be' retainedl is gasoline, the viscous substance can be molasses or this `latter mixed with glycerine close up the holes produced by the vpassage of the projectile. l

B. Within'this double envelope are disposed tWosheets of rubber U1 U2, sewed t0- gether at intervals,A filled and surrounded with viscous `substance V. 'This disposition can be carried'4 out by usual manufacturing methods and can be more `readily and quickly put in place than the rubber bags constituting the second device of the patent. As in the first and second cases, the double venvelope is disposed between two thicknesses of a fibrous or pulverulent substance F.

Another method consists in suppressing one of the two'rubber sheets, and an alternative method employs two rubbersheets, U1 and U2, sewed together and'containing the viscous matter.

In order to prevent this non-puncturing envelope `from being vcrushed under the weight of the tank, a methodcan be employed which consists inv disposing between the lower metal wall of the latter and the internal portion'of the envelope, four rubber spacerblocks T secured to the envelope, thislatter in turn resting by its outer part upon other rubber blocks also secured to the envelope, vA, this construction being em-v ployedfor instance at the four corners of the entire device, or four metal feet can be preferably secured to the lower corners of the reservoir and passed through the envelope, tightness around these legs being obtained by binding around them rubber sheets in a solid manner.

I claim:

1. A self-sealing fuel tank including a wall formed of sheet metal an interior protecting wall for the metal,`and an exterior layerfor preventin the escape of liquid contained in the tan upon the perforation thereof. Y

l 2. A self-sealing fuel tank including a wall formed of a layer of metal and exterior of the metal layers of viscous .matter insoluble in the li uid, and a layer of a substance sufiiciently .e astio to prevent theoutflow of the said viscous matter.

3. A self-sealing fuel tank includingl/ a metal wall, a layer of cork on the inside surface thereof, a layer of viscous materialLinsoluble in the liquid to be contained in the tank on theother side and a layer of a substance sufiiciently elastic to prevent the escape of said viscous material upon the perforation of said wall.

4. A self-sealingffuel tank including a wall formed of a layer of aluminium and layers of viscous matter insoluble in the Laaeeee liquid and a layer of an elastic fibrous substance suiiicient to prevent the outflow of the said viscous matter.

5. A self-sealing fuel tank including a Wall formed of a metallic layer, a viscous substance insoluble in the liquid to be contained in said tank, means for sub-dividing the said viscous substance into compartments, and a. layer of elastic substance to prevent the outiiow of the viscous substance.

6. A self-sealing fuel tank including a Wall formed of a lmetallic layer, a viscous substance insoluble in the liquid to be contained in said tank, rubber sheets sevved at intervals for containing said viscous substance and for subdividing the same into compartments, a double envelope containing said sevved rubber sheets, and a layer of fibrous substance..

-7. A self-sealn fuel tank including a Wall formed of auminium, a viscous substance insoluble in the liquid to be contained in said tank, rubber sheets sewed at intervals to form pockets containing the said viscous substance, a double envelope containing the sevved rubber sheets, and a layer of fibrous material.

8. A self-sealing fuel tanky including a wall formed of sheet metal, an interior protecting Wall for the metal, and an exterior layer for preventing the escape of liquid EMILE FRIANT. 

